Trek stuff

Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One

Be warned, this is not really an analysis of the character, more a look at why she was wearing that skin-tight uniform and why it was such a problem with some people.

Written by 2 Takes Frakes

SOME BACKGROUND ON 7 OF 9, FIRST:
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Jeri Ryan has aged pretty well, but in The Nineties, she was a blonde
bombshell with bulging eyes and puffy lips like some anime character
and a really nice rack. But more, even than this, she was – and is –
fairly talented. In a lot of ways, having landed the role of an
unassimilated Borg in STAR TREK: VOYAGER, around this time, she proved
herself to be the precursor to Cylon #6 of Battlestar Galactica.

The Seven of Nine character would first appear in the two-part episode
“Scorpion” and after a massive publicity campaign, VOYAGER’s sagging
ratings jumped sky-high. Her form-fitting catsuits and Ice Queen
demeaner proved a huge hit with fanboys. She was born into a Human
family which had been assimilated by The Borg. Her birthname was
Annika Hansen, and even though Seven’s connection with The Borg had
been severed, once she became part of VOYAGER, she never reverted
back to her original name. But she did have lots of flashbacks, over
several seasons, regarding her Human childhood. Still, Human emotions
remained difficult for her to contend with as she found herself
becoming VOYAGER’s Science Officer – echoing Mister Spock, in some
ways.

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In every other way, however, Seven of Nine – with plenty of help from
Jeri Ryan’s hot body – was raw sex-appeal. She started out wearing a
silver catsuit that was kind of ribbed, in an interesting way. And her
ASSets were enhanced to the Nth degree with this “uniform,” but the
raised collar had caused her some problems. Eventually, we would see
Seven of Nine in the standard, form-hugging catsuits worn by Deanna
Troi (Marina Siritis) of STAR TREK: The Next Generation. And like
Marina, Jeri had more curves than a bowl of oranges.

These catsuits the producers of VOYAGER demanded Jeri Ryan wear were
much-appreciated by fanboys, as mentioned. But they did not escape
criticism by many who basically found them “sexist,” as there was no
“real” reason for her to be wearing them. A bone was thrown to those
affronted, however, in the excuses that was actually written into the
show that her original, silver catsuit was basically “good for her
skin.” That’s not an exact quote, but it sums up the reasoning very
well.

Who was complaining, exactly, my minimal amount of research was unable
to reveal. I did not come across any survey’s on the subject.
Personally, I can’t imagine anyone having a problem with it, unless
they were a hairy-legged Femi-Nazi, a 27 year old Momma’s Boy whose
nuts had yet to drop, or those who simply wanted to screw with the
makers of fine programming and just invented something to bitch about,
to see what kind of a response they’d get.

Now, I’ve mentioned this before, in a previous article, that I’m not
really into blondes that heavily. But if a chick is hot, she’s hot –
and there’s no getting around it. And even though I “get it” that
Seven of Nine is supposed to be such a turn-on, I never really “felt”
the sexual tension with her and the crew. From the neck up, I didn’t
really dig The Look, for the most part. No many women can do the
puffy, “pillow-lipped” thing the way Angelina did it, in her hottest
years.

But from the neck down, Seven of Nine was right on The Money! And, for
all of that, she never really got to show any serious cleavage, which
I felt the character needed, at least as a standard her exploration
into her own femininity could revolve around. If she’s working so hard
to be “Human,” then she should do what young women do when they’ve
“got” it – flaunt it! These catsuits were OK, for duty-wear, I guess,
but she wore them, like … all the time. I guess Rick Berman and his
team felt, “hey … since we got away with her wearing this outfit,
let’s not push our luck anymore than we have to with these
malcontents. Let’s just keep her in it.”

There was one episode, that I can vaguely recall, with her standing on
a beach somewhere – in the Holodeck, maybe? – and she had this pink
dress on that was kind of pretty, I guess. But it does beg the
question of why, even when “they” finally got Seven out of those
catuits, for once, she was never dressed like a “normal” hotty and put
on a tight blouse with a low neckline, and a really short skirt with
high heels. The Politics of T&A were clearly in play, thanks to these
Puritan complaints about Seven of Nine’s “normal” attire and I feel
that the character suffered, because of that.

Why is it that – in almost any and every arena – it’s the Vocal,
Organized Minority who always wins out, in the end?! Whether it makes
any actual difference, or turns out to be useful, at all – none of
that matters to them. Even what’s being controlled is of no import.
It’s all about control. That’s all. So, you’ve got the same people who
go around putting figleaves on statues deciding how female characters
can dress on a fantasy TV show. You know what’s really funny about
that, though? It’s that most young adults, especially, see more skin
in every day life, than even those who get to cosplay with the likes
of Jeri Ryan for them will ever allow.